Cooler Evenings

Another couple of weeks seem to have flown on by, and the much welcomed cool evening are finally settling in around Strigidae Farm, and we’ve been plodding along – getting bits and pieces done about the place.

We had some fairly huge downpours when the cyclone was shifting off down the coast, some of which came in – but we’re old hands at this now, and its nothing that a couple of well placed towels couldn’t fix!

One of the fun things we’ve done of late, is to make our own laundry detergent.
Its a super easy process, and doesn’t take too long at all – and cleans the clothes as well as any shop-bought stuff – but the best thing other than it being sooo super cheap, is that we know whats in it, and that its safe to go on the gardens.
(we will put up the recipe soon for those interested in having a go at making their own)

We had a visit from our youngest daughter and our son-in-law over one of the weekends in early April.
Not only was it great to see them – but they were a huuuuge help in bringing a pile of larger stuff from the house in town, out to the Farm.

An exciting addition that they bought out, was our upright freezer.
We haven’t had a freezer out here, and finally having one has been bliss – and makes meal-planning so much easier!
And its amazing how much more like ‘Home’ it looks and feels, with the simple addition of a bookcase, and one of our recliner chairs.

Thank goodness they are both cross-fit junkies with a lot of muscle between them. lol
They also helped with the relocation of the outdoor kitchen/bar that was picked up a couple of weeks ago, and is super heavy, and moved the kennel off the trailer, into the ‘Palais-de-Poochi’ compound.

There has been a fairly large spanner in the works over the last couple of weeks though.
You may recall back in February in our post “The Rains are ‘here’…STILL“, mention was made of the hip issue that seemed to be slowly resolving.
Alas, toward the end of March, it blew back up again and it was back to the Dr and Physio and them having a little confab with one-another.

The upshot of it was: one (mostly) bed-bound Wife, who is off work for a minimum of three weeks, who can sit for short periods and go for slow walks around on flat ground – but who can’t push, pull, lift, vacuum, sweep, mop, do stairs, do hills, twist etc.
And its been hard…

One of the most difficult and heartbreaking things; is that we have had to have discussions about whether or not we are able to keep Digby…

He’s a very big lad now, and at only 91/2 months, is still very much a puppy – and has ‘puppy type needs’.
He also needs direction, training, discipline – and most of all consistency.
And because he is so boisterous still, he needs to be kept away from the two smaller dogs, a lot – as what he thinks is playing – they think is a form of brutal torture.
And to be fair – for them it kinda IS! 😐

Its a tricky enough job when we are both on deck, but when one of us is flat out in bed with very limited mobility; and the other is doing absolutely everything else, plus working all hours possible – its just not realistic to think that it can continue on like this…

And – despite how difficult it may be for us – the most important issue is, that its not fair on ANY of the dogs.
Continual segregation just isn’t a reasonable or appropriate or feasible option for any of them; long term.
Its something we’re still trying to work out…

On another good news front though – the paddock is still nicely mown and looking gorgeously green, as is the house-yard.
The trees we’ve planted over the last few months have all survived well and thrived, and even the banana trees are flourishing, with lots of lush new growth.
We’re hoping that over the long (easter) weekend, we can get the last of the fencelines brush-cut and poisoned.

Almost all of the big garden beds are now filled with soil, and it won’t be long until we paper and mulch them, and add seedlings.
We need to be getting in some winter crops as soon as we can – but as with all things, it all takes time.
We’re soooo looking forward to spending time getting some dirt on our hands and making a start though!

Thats about it for this time around!
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Until next time – have a good one and look after YOU!